The Maze's Exit, And The Last Two Waves!

"Kuso~ there's no end to these things!"

"I'm.."

"Alexander! Don't faint! Don't break formation!"

"Cainsz! We need cover!"

"Don't stop moving you guys! We can't afford to let up!"

Despite their severe exhaustion, the heroes continued supporting their stars, Albrecht and Isaias as they cleared the Seventh Outerlayer. They couldn't afford an outbreak to happen, and besides, there were only ten waves left! Just ten waves... and it will all be over.

Then again, some of the heroes could barely keep it together. They were running low on fumes, just like Alexander Grado of the Heroes of Relics who could only envelop himself with Zecian Aura, nothing more, nothing less.

Albrecht and Isaias weren't in the best of shapes either. While Isaias could barely defend his side, Albrecht was relying too much on his summons to defend his portion. Of course, he continued swinging his weapons around since the skills he used didn't expend that much Zecian Aura.

This was Albrecht's plan all along, to use his passives and try to conserve Zecian Aura by combining his skills and weapons. It had worked so far, and he was in a much better place compared to the other heroes. Then again, his strength was still on par with Isaias, and together, they were bound to exhaust their Zecian Aura before the hundredth wave.

[Wave 89/100 Cleared]

[Wave 90/100]

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"Oi! Stop drooping your head, Marie! We're not done yet!" Sun Wu screamed his lungs out even though he had already noticed that Marie Netoinne was extremely pale. She had already overworked herself, and her ice magic was getting the better of her.

"I'm sorry, leader... I can't..." It was no surprise that Marie fell into unconsciousness. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that she was able to survive this long even though she had been fatigued since wave 50. Then again, no one could blame her for losing consciousness. After all, she wasn't the first one to go out of commission.

She was the first out of the Heroes of Relics though, and Alexander Grado almost came a close second.

"Cainsz, you have to cover for her!" Albrecht screamed at the top of his lungs.

For some reason, Cainsz nodded his head and covered the portion that was being defended by Marie. He too, was depleted, and now he had to cover an area that should've been managed by two people, not one.

Then again, he wouldn't compare himself to Albrecht and Isaias who were simply ravaging beasts when it came to their defense. They were covering their ground pretty well, and they weren't afraid to jump into the horde of Earth Sand Golems and come back after defeating dozens of them.

Right now, though, they limit themselves from doing that since the risk was higher than ever. If one of the Earth Sand Golems were to touch the post, then it's game over. That's why the two of them rarely go through the trouble of destroying the horde from afar.

With ten waves left, everyone was focused entirely on defense. Nothing more, nothing less.

—

—

Back inside the maze,

"Isn't that—"

At the end of the long hallway that seemed to extend to eternity, there was a faint light, almost like a dot. They've been wandering the maze for so long that the smallest ray of hope felt so bright for them. This was the first time they saw something like that, and it definitely hyped them up.

"Yulie Rosethorn, I know you have a lot of questions right now, and I know that I've done Albrecht a terrible disservice. But for now, let's focus on saving everyone, and then we can talk later on." Azura Xalthor muttered.

"No need, I'm not one to dwell on the past. Besides, Albrecht's in a better place now, my guild." Yulie Rosethorn flashed a smile as the two of them turned around.

Both the Caharsa and the Rilegarthe Guild were right behind them, and further than that, a couple of stragglers followed the group as well after meeting them midway through the maze. Nodding their heads, Azura and Yulie addressed their group with a scream.

"We think we found the exit! Now let's run!" Azura Xalthor declared, raising his fists high up in the air.

"Osu~!" Yulie Rosethorn seconded, beckoning for her group to follow right behind her as they sprinted out of there.

Sprint. Sprint.

The faster they run, the brighter and more intense the light at the end of the 'tunnel' became. There was no doubt about it, the end of the maze's path was the way out!

Excitedly, the group ran, and it didn't take long before they got out of the maze with everyone else. The moment they did so, they heard a low rumble that almost shook the ground. It rattled their very skulls, and it prompted them to look around in hopes that they'd locate the heroes and give them some assistance.

Well, locating them was easy, since they were literally in the middle of the field where they spawned after clearing the maze. They were a couple of kilometers away, but Azura and Yulie instantly noticed them. By the edges of the area, right in line with the maze's exit, were Zecian Portals which surrounded the entire enclosed space, and they were the underlying cause of the ground's rumble.

"Albrecht!" Yulie Rosethorn excitedly let out when she noticed Albrecht along with everyone on the team. From afar, everyone already noticed that they worked to the bone, and it gave the group another push to approach them.

After all, at the very least, they could provide them with potions and basic buffs and healing.

Thump.

Thump.

Another sound was heard, and it garnered everyone's attention as they looked to the side. The Earth Sand Golems were beginning to come out of the Zecian Portals. Before Yulie could say anything, she felt a tug at her hand. "Let's go! We won't make it if the Earth Sand Golems get to them first!" Azura yelled, bringing her back to the reality of their urgency.

"Right!"

[Wave 98/100 Cleared]

[Wave 99/100]

[Posts defended:1]

[Defend your post!]